FINDING AZURE

T H I R T Y - F I V E / E P I L O G U E / REAL CHAMPIONS

                       "Fate, look at daddy!"

  Azure struggled to get the one year old to stay still as she wiggled in her lap, trying to get down.
"Girl, her bad ass is not going to listen" Armani snickered, snaking her head as her niece started to have a fit.

"That is Nico Jr. for sure" Justin said, eyeing the agitated baby.

A year had passed, and the three were sitting front row at Nico's biggest fight of the year. He was going against the current champion, fighting for the real title that would cause others in his field to respect him. After climbing the ranks, Nico proved to be one of, if not the best of his kind.

He was not only focused, but determined. With a plethora of endorsement deals and publicity, Nico Graham was now in the big deals and was no longer getting paid thousands to fight, instead it was millions being offered to see the young boxer work. It was the tenth round, and Nico was definitely fighting for his life in the ring. He won a few rounds, however the current champ Emmanuel Hall wasn't letting his title go without a fight.

"Come on son, you got this. Remember, Emmanuel doesn't usually hit from the left. Use that to your advantage" Muh said lowly to his son, as he bent down next to him.

"I know pops, but that nigga is fast" Nico said, defeated and out of breath.

His eyebrow was leaking a tad bit, and his right eye was starting to swell from a good punch that Emmanuel got off. Still, he was pushing through.
"You're faster" Ron told his brother, "He got like ten years on you, you can catch him. Let him play right into it" he smirked.

Nico nodded, next turning to search the crowd for Azure. Spotting her, he smiled as he saw her and the rest of the gang watching him from their seats. Fate was being bad as always, and he had to take the blame for that due to the fact that he always spoiled her.

He blew Azure a kiss, and she blew one back, finally getting her daughter to stop fussing and wave to her dad from afar. Nico chuckled, next hearing the sound of the bell that went off to signal the next round.

       The crowd watched in anticipation as Nico and Emanuel danced in the ring, the look in Nico's eyes telling his opponent this might be his last day as the champ. He swung first, but Nico dodged it. Instead of exerting all of his energy, Nico let the man chase him for a while.

He was trying to find an opening to do what needed to be done, and he was calculating the man's movements perfectly. Just as he predicted, the man used his right hook to attempt to strike Nico, only to be blind sided by the forceful punch coming from the left side of him.

He could feel himself losing his balance, and before he knew it he was blacked out onto the floor of the ring. The crowd went crazy, Ron and Muh ecstatic as hell at the 15 million dollar win.

"Yeahhh man!" Ron yelled, watching as his brother placed the well deserved belt on his shoulder.

"NICCOOO GRAHAMMM" the announcer shouted his name over the entire arena, as cameras began to crowd around him and his team as they bombarded him with questions.

"Yayyy!"

Fate clapped her hands, as if she could understand what was going on.

Azure and her friends started to double over in laughter, and Azure gazed up to see Nico staring straight at her. The two shared a glance, and as always, the familiar jolt ran down their hearts as it had never gone away.

It was true love.

No, it was fate.